The humble DIY PC builder just can't seem to catch a break, as more bad news is coming our way, this time from AMD. Earlier this week, we covered a report that said Intel planned to raise CPU prices by 10% by the end of this month. Now, it seems like the Red brand is also following the same pattern as its rival.
A new report from Nikkei Asia suggests that AMD plans a CPU price hike that will likely take effect from the end of March into the start of April. The report suggests that AMD could be looking at a price increase of "up to 15%" across its different CPU SKUs. The timing couldn't be worse for someone looking to buy a new desktop CPU, as Intel is planning to raise CPU prices at the same time.
Moreover, if the news wasn't already bad enough, we recently reported that the ASUS Joint Technology Systems Division General Manager, Yi-Hsiang Liao, announced that ASUS is also planning to raise PC prices by up to 30%. While this news is not surprising, it is still quite alarming for the average DIY PC builder who just wants to build a budget gaming PC.
The original report by Nikkei Asia suggests that AMD is facing increased demand for its server and data center CPUs, leading to a supply-demand mismatch for consumer processors. We already know about the crippling DRAM shortage that has forced price increases across a range of PC hardware products. Now, it seems like CPUs are the next item on the chopping block.

The current situation leads us to wonder whether the DIY PC building hobby is on its last legs. While PC building is still possible and quite popular, the industry seems to be moving away from gamers and individual enthusiasts towards giant tech conglomerates and enterprise clients. The ongoing chip and DRAM shortages keep getting worse and worse, with no realistic end in sight, at least for now.




